What Pleases God More than Anything

"That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory." / "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." (1 Thessalonians 2:12 / Ephesians 5:17)

William Law was born in 1686, and he died in 1761. Maybe you have never heard of him. He was not a celebrity or a politician or a war hero. He was not even a popular evangelist or a missionary martyr. Whatever he did in his life was not "important" enough to get him fame or to keep him memorable to us who are living now, more than 200 years after he has gone to be with the Lord.

But William Law – whoever he was – wrote this:

“From morning to night, keep Jesus in thy heart, long for nothing, desire nothing, hope for nothing but to have all that is within thee changed into the spirit and temper of the holy Jesus.”

What is your idea of "success"? Is it that you would make a lot of money? Is it that people would know your name and remember all the things you did in your life? For William Law, "success" meant becoming more and more and more like Jesus Christ, from the inside out. He wanted to keep Jesus as his main goal. He wanted to be Christlike more than he wanted anything else. We don't remember much about William Law today. In the world's eyes, he was probably never very "successful." But Christians can learn from his writings, and Christians can learn from his personal example.

If you are trusting in Christ as your Savior, is it your desire to learn God’s will for your life? God's idea of "success" is not that a person does a lot of famous things or earns a lot of money. The Bible teaches that God wants Christians to glorify Him by becoming more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ. That is God's idea of "success" for His people. This is what God wills; this is what God wants. 1 Thessalonians 4:3a says, "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification."

Sanctification is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. Sanctification is what William Law was longing for. Why? Because it was William Law's greatest desire to please God by becoming like Jesus Christ, God's Son.

To trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, yet never think about Him, never read the Bible, never pray to Him, and never tell others about Him – that must be a disappointment to Him. Because of Who Christ is and what He has done for us, becoming more like Him should be our greatest desire – no matter what else we are able to do in our lives, and no matter what else we might be remembered for.

God is pleased when we are becoming more like His Son.

My Response: » Am I more concerned about pleasing myself or pleasing God? » What is my idea of a "successful" life, and does it match up with God's idea of "successful"? » How have I been changing to become more like Jesus Christ?

B Myron Cedarholm

“God always blesses obedience.”

Blaine Myron Cedarholm was born on June 20, 1915. Myron Cedarholm, as he was called, was saved at the age of five. He was baptized at age ten by his father, who was also his pastor. By the end of his life, Cedarholm had come to be known as “the man with the pipeline to heaven.”

Cedarholm was raised in a wonderful home and knew at a young age that he was called to the ministry. He studied hard, prayed often, and preached weekly in churches everywhere.

In 1960, after he and his wife had served in ministry as a couple for thirteen years, they were given the opportunity of visiting missionaries around the world. The Cedarholms were able to visit at least 325 missionaries in 52 countries.

In May of 1968, Cedarholm received a phone call from a kind lady urging him to visit Watertown, Wisconsin. Because of her great respect for the Cedarholms, she felt he might be the right man to start a Bible college.

With less than 90 days until classes would be scheduled to begin, the project of starting a new college seemed impossible. God, however, is known for doing the impossible. In September of 1968, Maranatha Baptist Bible College opened its doors for its very first school year. 172 students from around the country attended this miracle school.

Mrs. Cedarholm wrote the school hymn, and its third verse reads as follows:Maranatha: He cometh! Behold, in the sky
A shout! A voice the trump of God! Our Lord is drawing nigh!
Believe Him, receive Him, look up and thou shalt be
To the Praise of His glory with Him eternally!

The Cedarholms trusted God to do the impossible if it was His will for them to start a school. Do you believe that God can do the impossible in your life? Are you trusting in God to lead you and give you what you need to be what He wants you to be, whether that’s a teacher or a missionary worker or a college president…or whatever He may want you to be?

Ephesians 1:12 – That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Description of God

Great and Mighty GodJeremiah 32:18 "Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,"

Question & Answer

Is obedience to the 10th commandment taught in the New Testament, too?

Yes. For example, the Apostle Paul teaches it: Romans 7:7 – "What shall we say then? is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."

BIG Christian Word

Lake of fire

In the Bible, the phrase "lake of fire" is used to describe a place where evil will spend eternity. It is described as a place of torment that will last forever for Satan and those whose name is not found in the book of life. This phrase is usually interpreted as another name for hell. Revelation 20: 10, 15 – "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.